Solar Paint Can Create Fuel from Sun and Water Vapor

Some scientists from Australia have recently developed a solar paint. It may not sound like much, but this pain is capable of extracting the water molecules from the air. After this, it’s dividing them into oxygen and hydrogen. The latter can then be stored and used as fuel. A new material called synthetic molybdenum-sulphide lies at the base of this new type of paint. It basically acts like a silica gel and it absorbs the moisture from the surrounding environment. Moreover, it also acts as a catalyst when combined with the sun’s energy. This triggers a series of chemical reactions which divide the molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.

Solar paint that creates fuel

According to lead researcher Torben Daeneke, a material scientist at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, they discovered that mixing this compound with titanium oxide particles creates a paint which absorbs the sunlight. It also produces hydrogen fuel from solar energy and the moisture in the air. Wall paint already contains that white pigment called titanium oxide. So, just by adding this compound, people can turn a bland white wall into an element which absorbs the sunlight and creates energy and fuel.

This technology is also very easy to obtain because people don’t need a supply of clean water. Water vapor in the air is all that the hydrogen fuel needs to be produced. According to the opinions of many scientists, hydrogen gas represents the best and cleanest alternative to fossil fuels. This is why researchers from all over the globe have been trying to create cheaper and more efficient methods to create hydrogen gas. Their purpose is to slowly replace the fossil fuels which are so dangerous and have led the humanity into a global warming crisis.

The best alternative to fossil fuels

Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, a professor at RMIT, said that this new system can also be used in those very dry and hot climates which are often near oceans. The hot sunlight evaporates the sea water. After that, the vapor can be absorbed and create fuel. He characterized the concept as “extraordinary”. If the humanity will be able to create fuel from sunlight and water vapor in the air we may add a few more years to our time on Earth.